George Morris Passes Away

George Morris, one of Georgia Tech’s all-time football greats, died Monday at the age of 76.

“Georgia Tech lost part of its heart and soul today,” athletic director Dan Radakovich said. “George Morris represented everything that is good about Georgia Tech football. The pride that he felt in the Institute and its athletic program saw no bounds. The pride we all feel in return for George and what he stood for as a Yellow Jacket and a human being can not be measured. We have truly lost one of the great ones. The entire Georgia Tech athletic community is in mourning.”

Morris, a first team All-American on the Yellow Jackets’ 1952 national championship team, has remained close to the program for more than 50 years. As recently as Dec. 1, he was representing Georgia Tech as an ACC Legend at the ACC Championship Game in Jacksonville, Fla.

At the time of his death, Morris was serving as president of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation.

“On a personal note, I have lost a very dear and special friend,” Radakovich said. “My heart goes out to his wife, Polly, and his entire family. As there was no replacing George on the football field, there is no replacing George as a friend.”

Saturday, December 15, 2007 George Morris will be laid to rest in a private ceremony by Riles Funeral Home, Vicksburg, Mississippi.

A partial list of Morris’ accomplishments:

– 1981/ Inducted into National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame – 1952/ First Team All-American – 1952/ Helped lead Georgia Tech to a national championship – Named one of Georgia’s Top 100 Athletes of the 20th Century by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution – 1952/ First Team All-SEC – 1951/ Second Team All-SEC – Led Georgia Tech to a 23-0-1 record over his junior and senior seasons, including two SEC titles and victories in the Orange and Sugar bowls. – 1991/ Named to Georgia Tech’s All-Time Team – Member of the State of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and the Mississippi Hall of Fame – 1955/ Part of the inaugural class of the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame – Georgia Tech’s leading tackler in 1952 with 114 – Recorded 11 career interceptions – Part of a Georgia Tech defense in 1952 that allowed just 4.9 points per game – Drafted in the second round (21st pick) of the 1953 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49’ers – Played one year with the 49’ers (1956) after serving three years in the U.S. Army